]]>I’ve got two Macs with Thunderbolt ports, and I’ve got the $50 cable, but that’s about where things end when it comes to my being able to take advantage of Intel’s latest high-speed, low latency input/output connection tech. But thanks to a newly announced product, Thunderbolt is about to get a lot more useful, and should even work with the wide array of existing USB 3.0 hard drives and accessories.

The product in question is the Echo Thunderbolt to ExpressCard/34 adapter from Sonnet, which allows you to plug in ExpressCard/34 accessories and then use them via your Mac’s Thunderbolt port. ExpressCard/34 is a connection standard that’s only available built-in on 17-inch MacBook Pros, and allows you to plug in various adapters, like USB or FireWire hubs, memory card readers, modems, eSATA and USB 3.0 port add-ons.

So far, we’ve yet to see too many Thunderbolt accessories go into production, or at least ones that cost less than $1,000. There’s the Pegasus RAID array available through the Apple online store, which is admittedly a good deal for that kind of hardware, but it’s a little pricey for ordinary users. And Apple also recently introduced Thunderbolt Cinema Displays, but that’s also something that might appeal more to professional customers.

With the Echo ExpressCard/34 adapter, anyone will be able to use drives that support USB 3.0 or SATA high-speed transfer technology with their Macs, as well as add FireWire, Ethernet or memory card reader ports to computers that don’t have them, like the MacBook Air. The adapter will admittedly be a bit bulky, and its $150 cost is just the starting point, since you’ll have to buy the appropriate ExpressCard/34 adapter as well as any drives or accessories you want to use with your Mac, but it still puts things in a much more affordable range than the current crop of available Thunderbolt-powered add-ons.

The Echo is available for pre-order, and ships in October. It’s definitely one way to make your computer’s Thunderbolt more useful, but would you rather wait until more direct solutions appear? Let us know in the comments.

]]>Rumor has it that we’ll see refreshed Apple iMacs as soon as Tuesday, May 3, including new Intel Sandy Bridge processors and the Thunderbolt ports that made their debut on the latest MacBook Pro revisions. Even if the iMac isn’t something you’re terribly interested in, this is a release all Apple-watchers should be excited about.

The refresh seems to be an evolutionary update, as reports only assert that second-gen Core i (aka Sandy Bridge) chips are on their way to the all-in-one, along with the high-speed Thunderbolt port that handles both DisplayPort duties and low-latency simultaneous dual-channel data transfer. Big changes to the looks or other components haven’t been mentioned, and AppleInsider couldn’t get any info regarding earlier rumors that iMac screen sizes would change, or that the 6000-series AMD Radeon HD graphics chips would be making their way into the Macs.

But even if Apple’s next iMac isn’t a show-stopper, it should have all the ingredients it needs to spark another leap forward in desktop computing. That’s thanks mostly to Thunderbolt, which so far holds a lot of promise but hasn’t really yet begun to make its presence felt. But it’s a technology that makes the most sense when thought of in the context of stationary workspaces, and that’s why the introduction of Thunderbolt to the iMac line (Apple’s strongest desktop holdout in a market that’s moving further toward mobile and portable paradigms) should result in much wider uptake and use of the tech by third-party device and accessory makers.

Daisy-chained storage, display/storage/USB combo devices, and HD video and photo capture devices all make much more sense combined with a stationary desktop workflow than they do with a mobile workstation. And with iMacs populating creative agencies and development studios worldwide, Thunderbolt will have a much wider reach with an ideal target audience once it gets baked into the iMac. The MacBook Pro is a strong seller, but most accessory makers will be shy about using the spec until it has a wider potential audience. Thunderbolt on more machines should help bring the cost of accessories that use the spec down, too, as manufacturers can count on higher sales volume of those devices.

I may or may not actually end up purchasing a new iMac (my current desktop workhorse is about three years old and starting to show its age) but I’m still excited for them to arrive, if only because of it what it will mean for Apple’s biggest little tech introduction this year: Thunderbolt.

]]>In September 2009, at the IDF Conference in San Francisco, Intel demonstrated a new technology dubbed Light Peak, a super high-speed optical fiber data transfer system that, overnight, every tech pundit in the industry was predicting would be the successor to USB (I was one of them). Thirteen months later, and CNET reports that Light Peak is due to arrive early next year, and will potentially be featured in new Macs in 2011.

Headed for a Format War?

It won’t be long before pundits are talking about a “format war” between USB 3.0 and Light Peak. I don’t think there will be a format war, and I certainly don’t believe it’s an issue that will even cross the radar of the average consumer. Rather, I think we’ve reached a point in personal computing where blistering speed and capacious storage have become less important (to most users) than ease-of-use and simplicity.

Take a look at USB 2.0. It’s dominant today for several reasons, but mostly because it’s adequate. Widespread adoption of USB was something of a struggle in the early days, and we can thank Apple for having the courage (and stubborn streak) to “aggressively encourage” customers to adopt it. But Apple seems willing to go in the other direction, too, withholding technologies in favor of something simpler – or more popular.

Simple Trumps Flexible

Consider the ExpressCard. Until last year, it was supported in all MacBook Pros. Today, the only model in production sporting an ExpressCard slot is the high-end 17-inch version. Most people buying that model are atypical consumers, and instead tend to be media professionals or power users, for whom ExpressCard is actually useful. For the vast majority of consumers snapping up MacBooks and iMacs, that slot was an idle curiosity. So Apple opted to replace it with an SD card slot. The technology is slower and less flexible so, from a certain point of view, this represented a step back. But for the average buyer, it was a great leap forward.

A process as seemingly straightforward as connecting a digital camera to a computer becomes an exercise in frustration and anxiety for a surprising many: old cables are piled in tangled heaps from the depths of drawers, USB cables are jammed into Ethernet ports, 54-in-One memory card adapters are manhandled and USB keys wrenched unceremoniously from machines.

The experience of the average, everyday computer user varies wildly from that of the tech-savvy individual, as anyone who’s worked at a technical support hotline can attest.

Whose Definition of “Better?”

In light of this, Apple’s decision to incorporate the SD interface into their best-selling computers makes perfect sense. There are no cables involved. There are no similarly sized ports to confuse or confound the uncertain user. SD cards might not represent the cutting edge of technology, but they are the right technology for most people.

But surely people want better? The definition of “better” isn’t static, though. To some, like me, “better” is all about power consumption, bandwidth, pipes, protocols and things like “API’s” and “Controllers”. My mom’s idea of “better,” on the other hand, means “easier,” and though she might not be able to tell you what would be easier, she can certainly tell you what’s not, and ExpressCard is one of those things.

This is representative of the typical user, and Apple not only knows this, but is dedicated to realizing a computing future in which, if anyone is going to be left wanting, it won’t be my mom.

No Wires, Nor Ports

Light Peak, if it is going to be adopted anywhere, will see use as part of the guts of a machine, providing incredibly wide bandwidth between internal components. You’ll never see a Light Peak port anywhere, if Apple’s vision of the future of computing comes to pass.

You won’t, in fact, see any ports. Already SD cards can wirelessly broadcast data to a waiting computer, and it’s only a matter of time before this technology makes its way into most of our portable devices. Apple is bound to lead the way. Let’s face it; the stage is set. Apple has a plethora of portable devices packed with flash-based storage and radio assemblies. The advent of technologies like Wi-Fi Direct make a future without hardware ports even more likely. Wires definitely don’t figure heavily in the streaming future I alluded to earlier this week.

Finally, don’t forget aesthetics; I imagine Steve Jobs pretty much hates those ugly ports breaking the otherwise flawless, minimal lines of his beautiful MacBooks. As notebook internals get ever smaller, the ports themselves will begin to dictate the minimum thickness of future MacBooks. How long do you think Mr. Jobs will tolerate that barrier to better design?

So as the Light Peak story begins to do the rounds once more, ask yourself what Apple is more likely to do: adopt a new standard for which speed is the primary “benefit,” or aggressively pursue a vision of “better” that geeks might lament, but most embrace? I guess it comes down to this: Between moms and geeks, which is Apple’s biggest market these days?

]]>Digital cameras and camcorders will drive the adoption of SuperSpeed USB faster than any other segment, according to market research firm In-stat. The newest implementation of the USB computer interface provides fast data transfer for HD video, and companies will be outfitting cameras with the technology in increasing numbers. The research indicates that digital cameras and camcorders will reach a 50 percent and 60 percent market penetration, respectively, by 2014.

SuperSpeed USB, a faster bus implemented in USB 3.0, provides a high-speed transfer mode reaching 5 Gbits/second. This fast transfer is perfect for large HD video files, as a 25 GB file can be transfered in just 70 seconds; this compares to a transfer time of 14 minutes using existing USB 2.0 technology.

USB 3.0 has a benefit for mobile device owners aside from the speed improvements, as the technology allows charging devices through the USB port on laptops without impacting performance. Most smartphones are using either microUSB or miniUSB connections for power, and USB 3.0 provides a faster charge time for such devices.

Laptop makers are just beginning to produce devices with USB 3.0 technology onboard. New interface technology is slow to roll out due to the “chicken and egg” situation: A lack of USB 3.0 peripherals slows the need to put such connections on laptops. OEMs will be slow to make peripherals with the new technology as few computers have the connections. The adoption of USB 3.0 by the camera industry is important, as it will push computer makers to start using it. Our Mobilize event next month will highlight all aspects of the mobile scene — perhaps we’ll see some USB 3.0 in action.

]]>You might be waiting for a USB 3.0 interface in your device, but SuperTalent is wasting no time in producing a flash drive for it. Earlier this month, the company announced its USB 3.0 Express Drive. I’m thinking that the name isn’t quite the best — when I saw Express Drive, my mind immediately pictured an ExpressCard device, not a USB stick. Naming aside, the 16GB and 32 GB flash drives will offer read speeds of up to 125 MB per second with a supported USB 3.0 port, while writes will happen at up to 50 MB per second. Note that these speeds are megabytes per second (MBps), not megabits (Mbps). Here’s another way to envision the speed — SuperTalent says that a 600 MB transfer takes only 12 seconds.

As fast as the speeds sound, they’re far below the 480 MBps that USB 3.0 technology can offer. According to Everything USB, the ExpressCard devices are slower to keep the price down. The cost estimates for the devices are $70 for capacity of 16 GB and $150 for a 32 GB unit. SuperTalent’s similar SuperSpeed Drives come in the same capacities — plus a 128 GB unit — but jump the transfer read speeds to a whopping 320 MBps. You’ll pay for that speed boost though — I found a 32 GB SuperSpeed drive online selling for $329.99. SuperTalent must realize that not everyone will shell out hundreds of dollars for a fast flash drive, so the Express Drivers sacrifice some performance for cost. If the price to speed ratio is what you’re looking for, you should be able to pick up one of these drives next month. Even if you don’t have a USB 3.0 port today, you’ll still get good use from the drive, since it’s backwards compatible with USB 2.0 ports.

]]>The tech earnings season kicked off with a bang this afternoon, as Intel reported much higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profits of $2.3 billion vs. just $234 million for the comparable period the year before, and revenue of $10.6 billion, up 29 percent. “Our ability to weather this business cycle demonstrates that microprocessors are indispensable in our modern world,” said President and CEO Paul Otellini. Still, for the decade ahead, Intel can’t count on high PC market growth and other familiar benefactors.

Among notable results for the company’s various divisions, Data Center Group revenue was up 21 percent year-over-year (there have been predictions that better times lie ahead for companies selling high-margin servers and producing chips for them), and average selling price for chips came in higher as well (so the company is selling more than just low-priced Atom chips). Intel does continue to benefit from growth in netbook sales with its Atom chips, and a possible coming wave of upgrades to Windows 7 at businesses could benefit it as well.

Nevertheless, as this decade begins, things are different for Intel compared to the start of the previous two. At the onset of the 90s and the Naughts, dramatic growth potential for PCs made it obvious that Intel’s fortunes would rise significantly with them. Although a solid rebound in the PC market helped it in the fourth quarter (keeping in mind that the fourth quarter of 2008 was abysmal for the PC market), the company no longer has the same long-term, PC-driven wind at its back to look forward to for the next decade — and even Intel’s presence inside Apple systems can’t make up for that problem.

Phones on Fire, PCs — Not So Much

Researchers at Gartner have just predicted that by 2013, mobile phones will handily outpace PCs as the predominant way for people to interact with the web. Gartner foresees the total number of PCs at 1.78 billion in three years, while the number of smartphones and web-ready phones will sit at 1.82 billion units, with rapid growth ahead for mobile phones. The trend toward mobile usage will change the whole infrastructure of the web, and web design.

“We’ve been saying that the 100 percent share of applications processors in phones that we have can’t continue. We don’t really see Intel making meaningful inroads into it, not for many years, probably never. In order [for device makers] to switch architectures, the Intel product has to be significantly better to outweigh the cost of switching.”

In addition to these issues, Intel is under intense scrutiny for any exclusionary or anti-competitive practices that regulators can dredge up, and is ensconced in a wave of bad PR. Nvidia had to be dancing in the streets as the FTC recently sued Intel, claiming that it abused its market power and cut competitors out of the marketplace. Nvidia wants to make sure vendors can buy and use its Ion processors that accelerate graphics inside netbooks containing Intel’s Atom chips without paying a higher price for the Atom chip.

The FTC’s move follows a huge fine from Europe last year, and Intel also paid out $1.25 billion last year to settle long-standing disputes over business practices with AMD. The company is even drawing criticism for what many people feel are exclusionary practices toward proposed industry wide-standards such as USB 3.0. The new standard is much faster than USB 2.0, but Intel has guaranteed its slow adoption by pledging not to support it until next year. Why would it do that? The answer is that it favors its own LightPeak connectivity technology, which has little industry traction.

As long-time Intel CEO Andy Grove used to say when the soaring PC market was guaranteeing Intel quarter after quarter of success, “only the paranoid survive.” With mobile phones reshaping tech usage and the web itself, the PC market growing more slowly now, scrutiny from regulators, and more, Intel’s sterling results from today certainly don’t mean the company shouldn’t be paranoid about tomorrow.

]]>Of all the connectivity technologies on the imminent horizon, USB 3.0 holds extraordinary promise. But although some devices based on it will debut at the upcoming CES show, we can’t herald the technology’s true arrival yet.

When many of us think of USB technology, we think of it as the familiar connectivity solution for our laptops, cameras, digital music players, and more. Indeed when USB 2.0 arrived years ago, it made many tasks, ranging from syncing data to transferring music and video, much easier. There are some signs that USB 3.0 is set to start doing such transformative things for our familiar devices, but unfortunately, it will only happen on a limited basis for the time being.

In my recent post on predictions for what will be shown at CES, I mentioned several USB 3.0 technologies taking shape. In response, I got more than one email from companies that will be showing them.

The devices on tap for CES follow a range of USB 3.0 debuts that came at the Intel Developer Forum conference earlier this year. There, Symwave and MCCI demonstrated what they billed as the world’s highest-performing USB 3.0 system, achieving speeds of over 270MB per second. LucidPort Technology showed its USB Attached SCSI (UAS) protocol running over USB 3.0. And Synopsys touted SuperSpeed USB 3.0 data transfers for a host, hub and controller in a single demonstration.

USB 3.0 is set to show up on some ASUS and Gigabyte motherboards, as TechRepublic notes. The bad news, though, is that Intel will not support USB 3.0 in its chipsets until 2011, and AMD may not either. Add to that the fact that Windows 7 doesn’t have native support and drivers for the technology, and large and important parts of the computing infrastructure are currently just unable to benefit from USB 3.0.

There will be interim solutions, though. Microsoft has pledged to ship plug-in solutions for USB 3.0 and Windows 7. And if USB 3.0 gets some momentum early next year, that may coax Intel and AMD to focus on it more quickly.

It’s too bad that the necessary parts of the computing ecosystem aren’t coming together in unison for USB 3.0 to truly arrive in the short term. The technology is far faster than version 2.0. It offers data transfer rates over 10 times speedier, and that’s been shown in many tests. The USB Implementer’s Forum has made the point many times that version 3.0 will allow transferring a 25GB HD movie in 70 seconds instead of almost 14 minutes. Think about that: 70 seconds.

Likewise, because USB is the connectivity choice du jour for all kinds of consumer electronics devices, version 3.0 will allow for consumer applications that were either clumsy or downright unreachable before. Photo libraries will transfer many times faster, and syncing video content between devices will become more convenient. Working with multiple audio and video streams simultaneously in applications will become more approachable.

USB 3.0 is also bi-directional, while USB 2.0 is not. That promises to allow for simultaneous downloading and uploading at fast speeds — a potentially tremendous convenience. Additionally, USB 3.0 is targeted to allow peripheral devices plugged into, say, a laptop to suffer fewer charge drains. Devices being charged while plugged into a USB port will charge faster — and who doesn’t wish for that? Let’s hope that the stars can find a way to align behind USB 3.0 next year. I’m not betting on it to make its true splash in January, though.

]]>The 2010 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which takes place Jan. 7-10 in Las Vegas, is rapidly approaching. Numerous important technologies — such as 802.11b, the first really widely adopted Wi-Fi standard — got their early boosts at the show. Here’s what to expect this time.

Smart TVs. TV manufacturers such as Vizio have been steadily talking up smart TVs (GigaOM Pro, subscription req’d), incorporating widgets, full-blown software applications and many other features that point to convergence between computing and televisions. CES is expected to be a major step forward for next-generation televisions. TV Everywhere implementations (GigaOM Pro, subscription req’d) are likely to be abundant, too.

Intel’s Cores. Intel CEO Paul Otellini is delivering a keynote speech at the show, and the company said that he’ll discuss new chip sizes and manufacturing technology, as well as Core processors for desktop and laptop computers. In total, Intel is expected to launch a whopping 17 processors at CES.

USB 3.0 Devices and Connectors. Version 3.0 of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection has the potential to be even more disruptive than USB 2.0 was, and that technology became the de facto way for us to connect everything from iPods to digital cameras to computers and other devices. The new USB 3.0 standard is 10 times faster at data transfers than USB 2.0 and is bi-directional. Expect new types of devices, dongles, connectors and applications based on it at CES.

Increased Smartphone Competition. In addition to a keynote address featuring Nokia executives, Palm has an event at CES, which some are predicting may be a major announcement. Expect new Android phones to be shown, and lots of smartphones with new and different form factors.

The Camera Cavalcade. CES is always a big show for digital cameras, accessories and software for photographers. This year will be no different, with fuel cell-driven cameras and those with advanced touchscreens seen as possibilities on the show floor this year. As usual, point-and-shoot cameras will be in abundance.

Android-Driven Home Entertainment. MIPS Technologies and Tensilica just announced a joint system-on-a-chip alliance that’s designed to accelerate the deployment of the open-source Android operating system in home entertainment devices. (MIPS already has its own Android distribution focused on the same goals.) At CES the companies will be demonstrating the potential of their joint alliance for everything from Android-based “mobile wireless phones to low-cost digital picture frames, high-definition DTVs, set-top boxes, Blu-ray disc players and more,” they note in their announcement.

Windows 7 Everywhere. Microsoft is riding a more positive wave on the operating system front than it has in years with the recent release of Windows 7, and CES is likely to be packed with many new netbooks running the OS, many types of laptops and other devices that take advantage of its touchscreen capabilities, and more.

]]>Anybody who has spent any time around the technology industry knows that broad-based standardization is important, for many reasons. Likewise, openness in standardization processes is also important. Self-interested tech companies have pursued their own proprietary standards proposals and patent moats for years, and can often obstruct open standards, interoperability and more. At the same time, though, can standardization efforts be taken too far? Last week, a group of 19 technology executives and representatives from the ITU’s Standardization Bureau, including people from Cisco and Microsoft, met in Geneva to consider that very question. Their conclusion was that standards are necessary, but that the ecosystem that promotes them has become “too complicated and fragmented.”

According to a communiqué from the Geneva meeting:

“There are hundreds of industry forums and consortia in addition to national, regional and international SDOs [Standards Development Organizations] competing for business. It is becoming increasingly more challenging for the ICT industry to identify and prioritize the places to concentrate their standardization resources.”

The group made a series of recommendations, including “implementation of improvements to the present standards scenario so that SDOs complement rather than compete with one another.” The ITU has been selected to drive the development of a number of initiatives called for at the meeting, including disseminating standards-related recommendations through a web portal or handbook, and more. The group will reconvene in 2010 for a progress check, and Cisco will host the meeting in Silicon Valley.

As examples of why these issues surrounding standards are important, and how delicate they are, I can think of two very important connectivity and networking technologies that have gone through such laborious, multiyear standardization and certification processes, yet their users ended up as the losers: 802.11n (the next generation of Wi-Fi) and USB 3.0 (the much improved new implementation of Universal Serial Bus technology).

While many people have been using Draft-N 802.11n Wi-Fi technology for years, there are also a lot of businesses that won’t switch to a new standard absent official ratification of the technology. In the case of 802.11n, that ratification only occurred a few weeks ago. What’s important about that is that standards proposals for 802.11n first arrived for consideration by the IEEE in 2002 — seven years ago. If you’ve used 802.11n, you know that it has vastly better range and speed than 802.11g. Why should we wait nearly a decade for squabblers to agree on a new Wi-Fi standard that can improve work and play for everyone?

Likewise, the USB Implementers Forum has pushed for acceptance of proposed new USB 3.0 technology for years, but only recently, at the Intel Development Forum, did the technology have what is being dubbed its “coming out party.” It won’t arrive on a widespread basis in products until next year, even though it’s a vast improvement over USB 2.0 in terms of both performance and convenience. Again, too many people argued over the proposed standard for too long.

Standards are important, and multiple parties should be permitted to weigh in on them. I can understand, for example, the anger that Europe and other parts of the world have toward the U.S.’s borderline monopolistic control over Internet standards. At the same time, though, too much complexity and fragmentation in standardization works against users. In technology development, time is always of the essence.

]]>Sometimes, technologies that are ready for prime time don’t arrive in official, finalized form for ages. For example, although many of us have been using high-speed Draft 802.11n Wi-Fi technology for years now, it was only a few days ago that the IEEE officially ratified the 802.11n spec. Likewise, USB 3.0, or SuperSpeed USB has been working technically well for a long time now, but hasn’t arrived for widespread use in products. (If you want to learn more about USB 3.0, see Stacey’s post over on GigaOM, “Everything You Need to Know About USB 3.0.“) There are some strong signs that that is about to change, and the true arrival of USB 3.0 could change the way you work in many ways — for the better.

All the way back in August of last year, I wrote a post on the delivery of the final specification of USB 3.0, and how it would soon usher in many new conveniences. “Soon” turned out to be jumping the gun, and I’m still waiting for some of the USB 3.0-enabled devices that I want to arrive. Now it looks like we’ll see product development start in earnest.

As CNET reports, next week’s Intel Developer Forum will include several USB 3.0-capable devices. They include a Fujitsu laptop that will exchange data with an external USB drive from Buffalo Technology, and a high-performance digital video camera from Point Grey Research capable of streaming 1080p high-definition video at 60 frames per second to a computer.

It’s easy to underestimate how much impact a connectivity technology like this can have on all of us. I clearly remember when USB 2.0 took off, suddenly ushering in many new types of audio, video and storage devices. However, the data transfer speed improvements in USB 2.0 over the original USB technology were not tremendous.

That’s hardly true for USB 3.0, which boosts data transfer rates 10 times over current USB technology. Cameras — video and still — will take on many new conveniences, allowing users to stream content very quickly to computers. Backing up data to external USB storage devices will speed up tremendously, and there are even other benefits expected from USB 3.0. For example, simple downloading and uploading will speed up significantly. USB 3.0, unlike version 2.0, is bi-directional, meaning that it can send and receive data at the same time. Additionally, USB 3.0 is targeted to allow peripheral devices plugged into, say, a laptop to suffer fewer charge drains. Devices being charged while plugged into a USB port will also charge faster.

CNET and others expect that a big wave of USB 3.0 devices could be upon us before the end of the year — worth keeping in mind as you start preparing your holiday wish list.